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Friday, August 03, 2012

Is President Obama's prostate gland more important than yours?

At Forbes.com today, Dr. Paul Hsieh unveils a little more of the policies hidden with Obamacare. And this bit of news will hit each of us where the sun don't shine ...

When President Obama turned 50 last year, he made an “informed patient request” for a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test. This is the blood test routinely used to screen men over 50 for possible prostate cancer. The President received his PSA test. But under ObamaCare, you may not be able to.

Now that ObamaCare has been upheld by the Supreme Court, all of its major provisions will be in force, not just the controversial “individual mandate.” This includes government medical practice guidelines that will affect millions of Americans.

He goes on ...

...[T]here are legitimate scientific debates regarding PSA screening. PSA testing, like all screening tests, is not 100% accurate. Some patients who initially test positive will undergo further biopsy or surgery that show it was a false alarm. Others who test positive will have slow-growing cancers that do not require treatment — i.e., they will die from unrelated conditions before their prostate cancers pose a threat. Some patients who test positive will suffer unavoidable complications from subsequent “downstream” biopsies or surgeries that in retrospect weren’t necessary. PSA testing can thus cause some patients more harm than good.

For these reasons, the American Cancer Society does not issue a hard-and-fast rule about PSA screening. Instead, they recommend that men over 50 make an “informed decision” following a discussion with their doctor on the “uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of prostate cancer screening.”

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At Forbes.com today, Dr. Paul Hsieh unveils a little more of the policies hidden with Obamacare. And this bit of news will hit each of us where the sun don't shine ...

When President Obama turned 50 last year, he made an “informed patient request” for a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test. This is the blood test routinely used to screen men over 50 for possible prostate cancer. The President received his PSA test. But under ObamaCare, you may not be able to.

Now that ObamaCare has been upheld by the Supreme Court, all of its major provisions will be in force, not just the controversial “individual mandate.” This includes government medical practice guidelines that will affect millions of Americans.

He goes on ...

...[T]here are legitimate scientific debates regarding PSA screening. PSA testing, like all screening tests, is not 100% accurate. Some patients who initially test positive will undergo further biopsy or surgery that show it was a false alarm. Others who test positive will have slow-growing cancers that do not require treatment — i.e., they will die from unrelated conditions before their prostate cancers pose a threat. Some patients who test positive will suffer unavoidable complications from subsequent “downstream” biopsies or surgeries that in retrospect weren’t necessary. PSA testing can thus cause some patients more harm than good.

For these reasons, the American Cancer Society does not issue a hard-and-fast rule about PSA screening. Instead, they recommend that men over 50 make an “informed decision” following a discussion with their doctor on the “uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of prostate cancer screening.”